The Food Basket, Hawaii Island’s food bank, is seeking the community’s support during its “New Year, New Wheels” campaign, an effort to raise needed funds to replace worn-out and unrepairable vehicles. ADVERTISING The Food Basket, Hawaii Island’s food bank, is
The Food Basket, Hawaii Island’s food bank, is seeking the community’s support during its “New Year, New Wheels” campaign, an effort to raise needed funds to replace worn-out and unrepairable vehicles.
As Hawaii Island’s only food bank, The Food Basket has provided continuous emergency hunger relief for 27 years and the agency’s vehicles are an essential aspect of operations.
Each month, more than 12,000 unduplicated individuals are served by The Food Basket through a network of partners and in-agency programs islandwide.
“Our vehicles are the workhorses of The Food Basket,” said En Young, executive director. “We don’t produce food. We collect it and get it out to where it needs to be. Our population is only one-fifth that of Oahu, but we are responsible for six times the area.
“We need reliable vehicles to serve places like Kapaau and Naalehu because we can’t just stop at a service station if something goes wrong.”
In 2016, The Food Basket traveled more than 130,000 “food miles,” picking up and delivering more than 1.4 million pounds of food.
The five vehicles used by The Food Basket are not mechanically reliable enough to cover its 4,028-square-mile service area. Staff members often are required to use their own vehicles for deliveries, Young said.
Maintenance costs and rental expenses are rising sharply to compensate for out-of-service vehicles. Only one is equipped with working refrigeration, providing additional challenges in maintaining the quality and safety of fresh food during transport.
“We have to have vehicles that work,” said Bernard Torres, lead warehouse associate and driver in Hilo. “None of the vehicles in Hilo currently have refrigeration capacity, which is a necessity.”
Funds raised through the campaign will be used to acquire a new box truck and cargo van, both of which would have refrigeration. The Food Basket is aiming to reach its $150,000 goal by July 31 in order to have these vehicles in use by the end of the year.
To donate, visit GoFundMe.com/TheFoodBasket or HawaiiFoodBasket.org.
